Highschool DxD : The Time Devil

Chapter 19- A Dumb Witch

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"So, you are the daughter of the Voodoo Queen, huh?" I said, looking at her calmly. However, she seemed to recall something from my words.

"Yes, I am the daughter of the Voodoo Queen. If you don't wish to start a war with witches, let me go. I can guarantee that word of today's incident will not spread," she said confidently.

"Aren't you a bit stupid? Your strength is about the same as the Voodoo Queen's, and defeating you was practically effortless. The Voodoo Queen would fare the same. If I go to war with you witches, aren't you the ones who will be doomed? You don't even have the massive population to rely on human wave tactics—or, in your case, a witch wave tactic. Voodoo witches might even go extinct if you fight me," I calmly stated the facts.

Zephine's face quickly turned pale with fear. She looked at me pleadingly.

"Please, I am sorry! I didn't mean to... Please, don't do anything to the witches," she cried, slightly choking.

"Well, you don't need to fear, actually. As I said previously, I was quite interested in you. The bout earlier was just a test. Your overall strength and talent are impressive. I wish for you to be my subordinate. Now, why don't you tell me about yourself in detail? Of course, don't leave out any important details, or else..." I smirked, teasing her with an evil smile. This was really fun. Maybe I'm a sadist... Nah, it must just be my devil genes.

"I am Zephine Ravenwood, twenty-one years old. Although I am the daughter of the Voodoo Queen, I am not a princess. The position of Voodoo Queen isn't hereditary—only the strongest witch can be the queen. So, for my mother, even I am an opponent.

I was born with one of the best talents among the witches, and I also possess a Sacred Gear. I call it 'The Heart of the Seeker.' Although it's nothing too impressive, it helps me understand things almost instantly, and I can create things much better with it. I've already created over a hundred spells of my own and become stronger than every other witch except my mom.

At first, I thought Mom would be happy with my progress and that I could help her too. But she began to fear my strength, afraid that I would dethrone her. She did everything in her power to cast me aside. Well, at least she didn't try to assassinate me.

I can be considered an outcast now. Even as the daughter of the Voodoo Queen, I have to run a small shop, creating and selling petty charms to ordinary humans to make a living. My elder sister… she may have some kindness for me, as she secretly helped me start the shop.

As for my brother… we witches are matriarchal, so whatever he thinks doesn't really matter. Since I've made many of my spells public, most witches have a good impression of me and treat me kindly whenever we meet. But my mother has forbidden them from contacting me, and associating with me would incur her wrath.

So, here I am, spending my time creating new spells, charms, and all that. But now, I don't even understand… What is all this even for? What is the benefit of being strong? Maybe I will grow much stronger than I am now, but so what? My strength hasn't really offered me much.

If I didn't have my strength, maybe my family could still accept me. Maybe my life would have been better… It's just… life doesn't even have a purpose. Maybe it's my Sacred Gear. Everything comes at a price, after all. Or, as my mom would say… maybe it's because I'm a Libra." She chuckled a bit at the end.

Holy shit… Who the fuck starts yapping like that as soon as they're given the chance to talk? I am your kidnapper right now, you idiot! Even with an intelligence-boosting Sacred Gear, she is still so… dumb. Does she really not see that her mother is the bad guy here? Why not just devote her mind to training and make her mom's fear come true by overthrowing her? And here she is… doubting her own purpose in life.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, maybe your mother has just misunderstood you. Perhaps she thinks you're after her throne. Personally, I'd suggest not dwelling too much on your past. After all, it would be sad if a beautiful, talented, and powerful witch like yourself wasted your life sulking.

Maybe, even by staying here, your mom thinks you're preparing to fight her. Might I suggest leaving this place for a while? Show her your intention, that you aren't interested in becoming the Voodoo Queen. That would certainly reassure her."

I first comforted her, then complimented her, hoping my strength and charm—along with a healthy portion of Stockholm Syndrome—would be enough to win her over.

Although she had some confidence issues and a bit of a low EQ, her abilities were fascinating. Even before I knew about her Sacred Gear, she interested me. Now… it would be a shame if that piece of God's work couldn't be utilized to its full potential. She was perfect to become my assistant in research. Not to mention, she was beautiful enough to overwhelmingly negate any of her bad qualities.

She blushed slightly at my compliments. Sure enough, I was right—she was already half won over.

"But… but even if I move away, she might think I've gone to learn more magic. Maybe, when I return, she would start attacking me before I could even talk with her," she argued.

A good point. For me, though…

"Hmm. Since that's the case… as I mentioned before, I'd like you to join my peerage. That way, you'd become a devil, and your mother would have no reason to hate you since you wouldn't be able to become the Voodoo Queen.

As a bonus, you'd gain near immortality, more strength, greater potential, and—most importantly—a purpose in life. I assure you, I would never let you feel worthless or depressed. That's my promise to you. So, tell me—would you be a part of my family?"

She looked at me with slight surprise, then blushed deeply, with faint steam rising from her head. Her eyes twinkled.

"Are you… Are you confessing to me? Of course, Maximus-sama! I am all yours from now on," she replied excitedly, looking a bit perverted.

...Umm… wait a minute. I had changed back to my real form. So, she's like this with my ten-year-old self?

Sure enough… this world is a world of hentai.

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Hello everyone,

I hope you are all enjoying the story, sorry for the late update, my end term practicals were going on, and due to some bad decisions from my part, I had to write 3 lab manuals and then learn it in the past 5 days.....so yeah it's been a bit hectic, but you can expect regular updates from now, 5 chapters would be uploaded in the upcoming week😊

Thank you all for reading,

Oh, and a serious question, I have received several negative reviews on the story, that it looks A.I. made, the first few chapters really do feel like that....

Can you please tell me whether it still does feel the same or have I improved my writing skills significantly?

And, most importantly, should I re-edit or rewrite the first few chapters????